Secret Santa
by TheLostMaximoff
Summary: Being a Runaway doesn't mean you have to miss out on the joys of Christmas. Molly intends to help her friends see that.


Secret Santa

By TheLostMaximoff

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This is a Christmas present for shadowgirlvg so I hope she likes it. R/R.

"Please?" Nico lets a heavy sigh escape her mouth and deftly manages to keep the safety pin between her teeth perfectly in place.

"Hold still," orders Nico as she takes the pin out of her mouth and hooks it on the cuff of Molly's jeans, pinning the legs up to keep them from dragging on the ground until she can hem them properly. She refuses to look at Molly's face because she knows exactly what she'll see. Molly's greatest power isn't her strength but rather the ability to turn normal, properly functioning brains into piles of sentimental mush just by sticking out her lower lip and making her eyes big and watery.

"You never answered my question," presses Molly, "Can we?"

"Mol, you know we can't," answers Nico with another sigh as she checks the height on the jeans and seems satisfied with it, "I love Christmas as much as the next girl but we just don't have the money for a round of Secret Santa. We still have to eat."

"But it's Christmas," counters Molly as if it's the most obvious of defenses and the simple statement will solve all their problems. Nico wishes it were that easy but unfortunately she's a little too old and a little too jaded to believe in Christmas miracles. At this point, she thinks maybe it was easier to just stay in New York and attend the Avengers' Christmas party since they were invited after that mess with Cloak and Dagger. She could use a little Christmas cheer ever since Karolina took off into outer space.

"I know, kiddo," assures Nico, "I really hate being the bad guy but we have to be more responsible with our money."

"You're such a Grinch," states Molly with a frown.

"Listen," says Nico, "We've all been good kids this year given the circumstances. Maybe if you write Santa a letter, he'll take pity on us and send us some stuff."

"You think so?" asks Molly, the skepticism in her tone more evidence that she's growing up and growing out of the idea that a fat man in a red suit is the one who hands out presents on Christmas. Nico remembers what it was like to be at an age where you weren't quite sure what ideas to cling to and what ideas to discard. In some respects, Nico's still sorting it out even now.

"Sure," promises Nico, "You better hurry though. Christmas is tomorrow."

"You're totally right," agrees Molly as she reaches under Nico's mattress and pulls out the older girl's diary. Nico watches with mild annoyance as Molly flips through the spellcaster's private thoughts with very little concern until she comes to a blank page and unceremoniously rips it out.

"No, go ahead," says Nico, giving mock permission for an act that has already occurred, "I don't mind at all that you're using my diary or that you know where it is."

"Oops," apologizes Molly, "Sorry about that. You really should hide it better though."

"Apparently I should," agrees Nico as Molly grabs a pen.

"You could ask Santa for a new one," suggests Molly.

"I think it would be good to only ask Santa to bring one gift to each person," decides Nico, "I'm not wasting mine on a new diary just because you tore a page out of this one."

"How come we only get one apiece?" asks Molly, "Santa always gets me everything I want."

"Because we don't want to take up too much of Santa's time," explains Nico, trying desperately to work around Molly's precocious logic, "Santa's going to be very busy tonight."

"He's magic," states Molly.

"Well I am too and I know I'd get tired if I had to deliver presents to everyone all in one night," counters Nico, "One thing each, Mol."

"Okie dokie," agrees Molly as she starts scribbling on her paper, "What do you want?" Nico thinks about the question for a few moments. She's not completely adept with magic but she doubts "Santa" can cram some of what she wants into his sack. There is one thing, however, that springs to her mind.

"A sewing machine," answers Nico, "Preferably a new one but I'm not too picky."

"Got it," assures Molly as she writes it down, "New sewing machine for Nico. Now I gotta get everyone else." Nico watches Molly run out of the room and notes the enthusiasm in her step.

"I'm going to Hell for this," mutters Nico as she tries to figure out a way to conjure up all the presents on Molly's list in order to avoid admitting that she's lied to her.

XXXXX

"Carmen Electra." Victor Mancha rolls his eyes as he checks the panels on the Leapfrog's consoles. He sticks his head out of the open cockpit window and watches Chase Stein tinker with the inner workings of the mighty machine.

"That's too easy," decides Victor.

"Dude, the category is 'Hot Chicks I'd Have Sex With' and we're on the letter 'C'," reminds Chase, "You seriously think I'm _not_ going to say Carmen Electra?"

"Anyone would say that," explains Victor, "You want me to test the gauges again?"

"Duh, of course anyone would," retorts Chase, "Yeah sure, hit the juice again and we'll see if it spikes like last time."

"You really can't come up with someone else?" asks Victor as he turns on the vehicle and checks the gauges.

"Who would you pick?" asks Chase in return.

"Christina Aguilera," replies Victor, "Everything looks good. I'm really surprised how well you know your way around this stuff."

"Yeah, I'm one of those idiot guys," explains Chase though Victor's not sure he has a complete grasp on the term he's attempting to use, "That totally doesn't count as your turn."

"Fine," mutters Victor, "Denise Richards."

"Isn't she married to that dude on Two and a Half Men?" asks Chase.

"Carmen Electra's married," reminds Victor.

"What're you guys doing?" asks Molly. Chase and Victor table their deep, thought-provoking conversation for the moment as both of them turn their attention to her.

"Playing a game," says Chase simply.

"Can I play too?" asks Molly.

"Sorry, _chica_," apologizes Victor, "It's kind of a guy game."

"So it has to do with sex?" asks Molly.

"Yep," answers Chase, "What's up, kiddo? You need something?"

"I'm writing a letter to Santa for all of us," explains Molly, "Nico says we each get to ask for one thing."

"A decent set of tools would be nice," decides Chase, "The old 'Frog here deserves a little better treatment when he needs a tune-up."

"You sure Santa has enough room in his sack for an entire tool set?" asks Victor as he attempts to imply that "Santa" might not be the one acquiring such presents should they be lucky enough to get them at all.

"Dude, he's Santa," reminds Chase, "So what's it going to be for you, Robocop? Hey, Molly, I bet you five bucks it has something to do with superheroes."

"Well yeah, of course," agrees Molly, "Nico says I'm too young to gamble though."

"Yeah well," states Chase, "Nico needs to worry less about the stick comin' outta her chest and more about the one stuck up . . ."

"An autographed copy of Rick Jones's book," blurts out Victor suddenly, more an attempt to stop Chase from completing his sentence than anything else.

"Who's Rick Jones?" wonders Molly aloud.

"Isn't he a rapper?" asks Chase, "Oh no wait, he's the guy from that Dave Chappelle skit, right?"

"You guys are terrible," states Victor, "Rick Jones used to hang out with the Hulk and the Avengers when he was our age. He wrote a book about it and I'd like an autographed copy of it."

"You're such a fanboy," declares Chase with a shake of his head meant to indicate his thoughts on how pathetic Victor is, "It's a good thing I get 'E' because you'd probably say 'Emma Frost' or something."

"Wouldn't you?" asks Victor.

"Yeah," admits Chase after a pause that tells everyone he's been foiled by the simplicity of his own logic.

"One book and one tool set then," says Molly as she does her best to spell the word "autographed" correctly and then wanders away to leave Chase and Victor to their work and resume their game.

"Hey," says Chase, "What's Santa going to bring for you?"

"Oh I'll think of something," assures Molly, "Later."

XXXXX

"I hear someone has decided to become Santa's little helper." Gertrude Yorkes looks up over her book and sees Molly standing at the foot of her bed with pen and paper dutifully in hand. Gert and Nico already had a conversation about Molly's noble but slightly misguided quest. It was decided that if anyone was going to break the bad news to her then Gert would be the one since the young mutant thinks of her as a big sister and is closer to her than she is to the others. Gert isn't exactly thrilled with this task. She keeps having reruns in her mind of that fateful moment when she decided beyond all doubt that her parents were lying to her about the fate of her pet pig. She doesn't enjoy the shoe being on the other foot.

"Do you think I should ask Santa to get Old Lace something too?" asks Molly. Both girls look at the dinosaur curled up asleep next to Gert's bed.

"OL's fine, Molly," assures Gert as she pats the space beside her, "C'mere. We need to have a talk." Molly crawls onto the bed and listens for whatever sage advice Gert is willing to impart.

"Is this about sex?" asks Molly warily.

"Wish it were," admits Gert with a sigh, "Mol, I really hate to tell you this but Santa Claus isn't real." She waits for the inevitable explosion and really contemplates the fact that she just ruined the parade of a little girl with super strength. Gert knows the results of such an action won't be pretty.

"You sure?" asks Molly.

"Positive," states Gert, "I figure it out when I was a little younger than you. Santa Claus is just a scam to help parents control their children and, trust me, all of us have seen enough of that."

"Well I still think he's real," disagrees Molly, "Now tell me what you want him to bring you."

"Kiddo, this whole exercise is kinda moot," says Gert, "There's no Santa, no reindeer, no elves, nothing. It's all a hoax."

"Tell me," presses Molly.

"Okay then," sighs Gert, deciding to let Molly discover the truth the hard way that every other child had to, "I want . . ."

"Yes?" asks Molly, pen hovering eagerly over paper. Gert looks around for some source of inspiration. Her eyes settle on Old Lace and she suddenly finds it.

"I want a new pet pig," states Gert, "The biggest one he can find."

"You sure?" asks Molly.

"Absolutely," confirms Gert, "Tell him he totally owes me one."

XXXXX

"You seriously did that?" asks Victor in a hushed tone. It's Christmas Eve in the Hostel and all are stirring save for Molly. She remains fast asleep in her bed, her letter to Santa apparently already miraculously delivered.

"She had to learn it eventually," hisses back Gert as the four Runaways move away from Molly's room once Victor's scan of it is done.

"Gotta say that's pretty harsh," admits Chase.

"We have to figure out something," decides Nico, "Our budget will allow for a nice dinner but no way can we get presents."

"Well you should've told her that," admonishes Gert.

"I did!" retorts Nico slightly louder than she wants to, "It's just that it's hard, okay? I remember how bummed out I was when I found out Santa wasn't real and all of us went through the same crap with our parents. She's still a little girl."

"You can't whip something up with your staff?" asks Victor.

"I can't get it to last indefinitely," explains Nico, "Besides, _someone_ had to go and ask 'Santa' for a live animal and the only time I've been able to produce one out of thin air was when I wasn't even trying."

"The stuff doesn't have to stick around for long," reminds Chase.

"You know Molly will still ask about it like three months from now," replies Nico, "It's just no good unless I can make it last and I can't."

"We're just going to have to tell her the truth then," decides Gert, "She has to grow up some time."

"Bummer," declares Chase, "I really could've used a tool set."

"We better get some sleep," says Nico, "Tomorrow's not going to be so merry."

XXXXX

Nico feels someone shaking her as she rolls over in her bed and mumbles incoherently. She's not sure how early it is but she knows it's way too early in the morning for anything.

"Oh my God, he came!" The voice almost shrieks into Nico's ear and she finds herself suddenly upright and semi-alert. She blearily recognizes the voice as Molly's.

"What?" asks Nico as she fumbles to check her alarm clock because there's really no way she can be awake at whatever ungodly hour this is.

"Santa came!" cries Molly as she grabs Nico's arm, "Come and see." Nico doesn't have time to argue. She forces her legs to work before Molly rips her arm off with enthusiasm. Molly drags the older girl into the common area where Nico sees the others looking on in amazement. It's then that she sees what they're looking at. There's a big, fully-decorated Christmas tree in the middle of the room and under it or near it are gifts for everyone.

"It's impossible," states Nico as she looks at the others, "None of us did this."

"Well somebody did," proclaims Chase as he gestures to the giant tool chest with a red bow on it, "Fully loaded and everything."

"Someone with an obvious sense of humor," notes Gert as she clutches a very large stuffed pig, "I got a note with this saying that Santa doesn't keep pigs at the North Pole because it would be inhumane. Har, har."

"Well you said he wasn't real," reminds Molly, "He even brought some chew-toys for Old Lace. Maybe if you're nicer to him he'll bring you something really good next year."

"Molly, it's obvious you got someone to do this," says Nico as she tries to keep herself from gushing about her new sewing machine, "None of us did this and I don't think you really believe in Santa Claus anymore."

"Well duh," says Molly matter-of-factly, "I stopped doing that like two years ago. Just 'cause I'm a little kid doesn't mean I'm dumb."

"So who did this then?" asks Nico.

"The game's called '_Secret_ Santa'," reminds Molly, "Besides, does it really matter? I mean the important thing is that everybody got what they wanted and they're happy, right?" With that, Molly grabs her Harry Potter DVDs and heads towards her room, leaving her friends with their gifts.

"Did we just get outsmarted by an eleven-year-old?" asks Nico in utter amazement.

"Yeah," answers Victor as he flips through his book, "She has a point though."

XXXXX

"I assume your friends enjoyed their presents?" asks a voice as Molly closes her door.

"Dude, creepy much?" asks Molly in return as she looks at Cloak, "Yeah, I think they liked 'em."

"I'm glad I could help them," says Cloak, "You saved Tandy's life. I owed you. You should also thank the Avengers. Spider-Man was especially helpful."

"You wanna stay and watch Harry Potter?" invites Molly, "I think we're having dinner later if you're hungry."

"No," replies Cloak with a smile, "I need to get back to New York. You still have Father Lantom's number if you need to reach us."

"Yeah," assures Molly, "You're pretty cool for an adult. Tell Dagger I said 'hi'."

"I will," promises Cloak as he disappears. He remembers the Christmas holidays he spent living on the streets and then later the ones he spent with Dagger as vigilantes. He knows that Christmas isn't easy for a runaway but he also knows it helps to believe in something even if it's a silly, childish something. He hopes his fellow Runaways will understand that a little better now.


End file.
